NO FAKES Act
In plain wordsA proposed US law that would let people control AI-made copies of their voice and face, and would require websites to take down unauthorized fakes once notified.
A proposed US federal statute (the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act) that would create a nationwide, property-like right in a person's voice and visual likeness against unauthorized digital replicasdigital replica, n.: A realistic computer-made copy of a real person's voice or appearance — such as an AI clone of a singer's voice or a digital stand-in for an actor — that can say or do things the person never did. — highly realistic, computer-generated representations of an identifiable individual. In the 2024 and 2025 texts the right would last for life and, through renewals by heirs or other right holders, up to 70 years after death; living people could license it but not sell it outright. Making or knowingly distributing an unauthorized replica would create civil liability, with exceptions for news, documentary, biography, commentary, criticism and parody. Online services that promptly remove material after a valid notice would receive a safe harbor, and rights holders could subpoena services to identify uploaders. Versions since 2025 also reach tools primarily designed to produce unauthorized replicas, such as some voice cloningvoice cloning, n.: Using AI to copy a specific person's voice from recordings, so a computer can say new things that sound like them — useful for dubbing and accessibility, and abused in scams. services. Supporters include record labels, studios, performers' unions and several technology companies; civil-liberties groups warn of overbroad takedowns and chilled speech.
If the NO FAKES Act passes, the platform will need a notice-and-takedown process for cloned voices.
Origin
Released as a discussion draft in October 2023 by US Senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar and Thom Tillis, introduced in July 2024, and reintroduced in April 2025 with backing from YouTube and OpenAI as well as the music and film industries. A revised NO FAKES Act of 2026 (S. 4591), introduced in May 2026, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously on 18 June 2026.
Usage note
As of October 2026 the bill had not been enacted. It is broader than the TAKE IT DOWN ActTAKE IT DOWN Act, prop. n.: A 2025 US federal law that forces websites to remove intimate images of a person posted without consent, including AI-made fakes, within 48 hours of the victim's request, and makes posting them a crime., which covers only intimate imagery, and would sit alongside state right of publicityright of publicity, n.: A person's legal power to decide whether businesses may use their name, face, voice or other recognizable traits to sell things, and to be paid when they do. AI's skill at copying voices and faces makes it more important. laws such as Tennessee's ELVIS Act (2024).
Related
- digital replicadigital replica, n.: A realistic computer-made copy of a real person's voice or appearance — such as an AI clone of a singer's voice or a digital stand-in for an actor — that can say or do things the person never did.
- right of publicityright of publicity, n.: A person's legal power to decide whether businesses may use their name, face, voice or other recognizable traits to sell things, and to be paid when they do. AI's skill at copying voices and faces makes it more important.
- deepfakedeepfake, n.: A fake but realistic video, photo or voice recording made with AI that puts words in a real person's mouth or shows them in a scene that never happened.
- voice cloningvoice cloning, n.: Using AI to copy a specific person's voice from recordings, so a computer can say new things that sound like them — useful for dubbing and accessibility, and abused in scams.
- TAKE IT DOWN ActTAKE IT DOWN Act, prop. n.: A 2025 US federal law that forces websites to remove intimate images of a person posted without consent, including AI-made fakes, within 48 hours of the victim's request, and makes posting them a crime.
- Section 230Section 230, prop. n.: A 1996 US law that generally protects websites and apps from being sued over what their users post, and lets them remove content in good faith. Whether it protects what AI chatbots themselves say is unsettled.
Sources
- U.S. Copyright Office (2024). Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 1: Digital Replicas.
- U.S. Senate (2026). NO FAKES Act of 2026, S. 4591, 119th Congress.
- Office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (2026). Blackburn, Coons Bipartisan Bill to Protect Individuals and Creators from Deepfakes Passes Senate Judiciary Committee. Press release, June 2026. blackburn.senate.gov/index.php/2026/6/blackburn-coons-bipartisan-bill-to-protect-individuals-and-creators-from-deepfakes-passes-senate-judiciary-committee
Mentioned in
right of publicityright of publicity, n.: A person's legal power to decide whether businesses may use their name, face, voice or other recognizable traits to sell things, and to be paid when they do. AI's skill at copying voices and faces makes it more important.